Opinion: Perry soiled by racism

The citizens of Perry, Fla., should be upset. An act of racial discrimination at a local bar has put the north central Florida town in the news in an ugly way. Perry is not the only place where this kind of thing happens, but it is another reminder, if one was needed, that racism -- whether crude or subtle -- still exists.

Talmadge Branch, an African-American state lawmaker from Maryland, was refused service at Perry Package and Lounge. He was told he wouldn't be served in the front lounge and would have to drink in the back room with the rest of the black customers. Branch's complaint got everyone's attention, including the governor's. The incident prompted investigators to descend on the area only to discover that the Perry Lounge is probably not alone in its Jim Crow practices. State and federal agencies, including the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, are peeling back the insularity that has allowed black residents in Perry to be treated with the same contempt their parents and grandparents once had to endure everywhere in the South. Sadly, it took an outsider to bring it to the public's attention.

The owner of the bar and the bartender who refused Branch service were both charged with second-degree misdemeanors for violating the public accommodations law. They have agreed to pay a fine of $500 and to write Branch a letter of apology in exchange for the charges being dropped. But these two have more apologies to write before coming close to making amends. They should be apologizing to every African-American who ever patronized the bar and was made to feel that their place was in the back. They should be apologizing to those black residents of Perry who never stepped foot inside the lounge because they knew how they would be treated. And they should be apologizing to the community as a whole for maintaining a repudiated social convention that has soiled Perry's reputation.

It would be naive to think there aren't other establishments like this in our state, and it shouldn't take an out-of-town legislator to point them out. Every citizen, black or white, who knows of a place where African-Americans are treated with disrespect, as though their business is less valued, should be bringing these matters to the attention of law enforcement. What happened to Branch was blatant discrimination. It is against the law. But as we all know, race discrimination takes place even in our larger and supposedly more cosmopolitan cities, just in subtler ways. The news from Perry has reminded us that we still have a way to travel down the road toward equality and justice.

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